Sharvani ChandvaleGoans are used to hearing the “Poder ailo go, chal paav ghe.” (“The bread-seller is here, go buy some pao!”) which is followed by a frantic and hurried cry of “Raaav re!” (Wait, man!”) to the bread-seller. Mornings throughout the state resonate with dialogues like this that make all of Goa feel like home.
As Goans, we gaily show off our susegado (laidback)life. We wake up to warm pao (bread)the poder (bread-seller) brings and nap in the afternoons after a hearty meal of nuste (fish) accompanied by soro (alcohol). There is something very pleasant about Konkani conversations that add to Goa’s charm. A singsong language that falls on our ears as sweetly as French, Konkani runs through Goa’s veins, pumping the warmth into its life. It is replete with emotionally charged words, abundant in its dialects and camouflaged in many scripts. Make no mistake, we’d fawn over this language in all its forms.
The history and evolution of konkani language
As history goes, Konkani became the official language of Goa in 1987 and one of the 22 scheduled languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India in 1992. As easy as it was to frame the previous sentence, ironically, our mother tongue braved a lot of difficulties to find recognition. It wouldn’t have been possible without the insurmountable persistence and dedication from the connoisseurs of the language.
Konkani went from being banned by the Portuguese somewhere between the 16th-17th century to being marked as a dialect of Marathi, and finally stirring Goans to fight to retain its individuality. The most prominent movements of them all was initiated by Vaman Varde Senai Valavalikar aka Shenoi Goembab. “Why was there a need for him to start a whole movement?”, you would ask. The sole goal was to save the identity of a community that rested in the hands of a language that was slowly disappearing.
The fall of Konkani & its resuscitation
In the 20th century, Konkani has succumbed to a secondary position, after being preceded by the Portuguese and even English languages. Most of the Konkani literature until the 16th century was also destroyed by the colonisers. Somewhere along the way, the Portuguese language started being associated with higher class Goans and Konkani to the lower class.
What Shenoi Goembab did was establish the very foundations of a long battle which resuscitated Konkani as Goa’s mother tongue and gave it its own identity in the potpourri of Indian languages.
The five scripts in which Konkani is written –
Devanagari, Roman, Malayalam, Kannada and Arabic
Konkani language today
Currently, this charming language is spoken all along the Konkan coast in the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and even Kerala. It’s astounding to see that it’s spoken in countless dialects and written in five different scripts i.e. Devanagari, Malayalam, Kannada, Arabic and even Latin. Moreover, Konkani is also a concoction of several languages such as Sanskrit, Mundari, Perso-Arabic and even Lusitanian, and finds its roots in Prakrit. The Inquisition that pushed locals to leave Goa resulted in the language changing as it changed lands.
For instance, Malvani is spoken along the Maharashtrian Konkan coast in Sawantwadi and Ratnagiri, a dialect borne by Konkani’s integration with Marathi. Similarly, Mangalorean Konkani is flavoured with a Kannada influence. So a Konkani speaker would think they’re speaking Konkani, but wouldn’t really understand full sentences. We think it’s simply fascinating!
Another fun fact we came across was that a Konkani-speaking tribal community currently living in the Western Ghats, has its roots in South-East Africa. They’re known as Siddis and they are the descendants of the Bantu people whose ancestors were brought as slaves to India. They made the forests their homes in an attempt to flee from the colonisers after slavery was abolished.
It doesn’t end there. We also came across the Arabic/Persian side of Konkani. Due to the intermarriages of Arab seafarers with locals and consequent conversions, there also exists a Konkani speaking Muslim community in Ratnagiri and Bhatkal. They use the Arabic script to write Konkani and speak a dialect that is known as Nayavathi (a word that possibly means “newcomers”). It is terribly fascinating to know how Konkani has taken the shape of the land and the people it was passed on to.
Understanding Konkani dialects
In an attempt to understand a few of these dialects, we tried translating the sentence “We’re glad you’re here” into them, and this is what we got –
- “Tumi illat, anand zalo” (Malvani, spoken in Ratnagiri and surrounding areas)
- “Aamhi lay khush ahot ki tumhi hay yeylat” (Another version of Malvani)
- “Mostu sontos zalo, tumi aayli” (Tulu, spoken in around the Karnataka Coast, especially Mangalore)
- “Bare disle tu aile mnun” (Konkani spoken in Ponda, Goa)
- “Amhi khup khush asat ki tumhi hanga aile” (Another variation of Goan Konkani)
Currently, Konkani is said to have at least 30 – 50 dialects, depending on what metrics you would use to classify a dialect. If Goa had to merge with Maharashtra during the opinion poll, Konkani would have been lost forever.
Initially, Konkani was known as Lingua Canarim or Lingua Brahmana and eventually, Lingua Canarim, by the Portuguese Catholic missionaries. Konkani has been known by a variety of names: Canarim, Concanim, Gomantaki, Bramana, and Goani. It is called Amchi Bhas (our language) by native speakers (Amchi Gele in Dakshina Kannada), and Govi or Goenchi Bhas by others. Learned Marathi speakers tend to call it Gomantaki.
The many origins of Konkani language
When we dug deeper, we found that Konkani is made up of words from different languages that are woven together. Some words such as – kazar (marriage), botat (potato), mezz (table), kuler (spoon), govet (drawer) are derived from the Portuguese words ‘Casar’, ‘Batata’, ‘Mesa’, ‘Colher’ and ‘Gaveta’ respectively. Similarly, the words cartus (cartridge), parval (parole), tamret (stool), bankh (bench) are some examples of words derived from the french words ‘cartouche’, ‘parole’, ‘tabouret’ and ‘banc’. Fakt – only, dusman – enemy, akkal – intelligence, bhogos – pardon, bandar – port, barik – thin, and Duddu – Money, Rokhdo – Quick, Poiso addko – Wealth, Hallsande/alsando – Kind of Bean, Tantim – Eggs are a few of the many words used in Konkani derived from Arabic/Persian and Kannada respectively. We’re sure you’ve come across at least a few of these!
Konkani language in theatre
Today Konkani has made its way into media, theater and literature thanks to Shenoi Goembab. It was he who laid the foundations for modern Konkani literature.
“When GOA Radio started from Bombay, a lot of Konkani writers published from there. Authors such as Uday Bhembre and Ulhas Buyao became popular for writing and composing the famed song Channeache Rati.” says Hrishi Kadam.
Bhembre was an activist during the agitation for konkani language and also a recipient for the Sahitya Akademi Award for his collection of poems and short stories. Dr Manoharrai Sardesai was a renowned poet and french translator. He was a member of the Sahitya Akademi, made crucial contributions to Konkani poetry and also wrote a lot of children’s literature. As Goans, what we enjoy the most is tiatr, a form of theatre along the Konkan coast. Recently, it has been making a niche for itself even in feature films and short films.
Final thoughts
A singsong language that we carry everywhere with us, Konkani binds and builds relationships amongst Goans no matter where we go. The songs that play on Sunday mornings connect as better than anything else. It is soothing in its own chirpy way. We may not always realise it, but even a few Konkani utterances will melt the coldest of Goan hearts. In all its dialects, it has proved to be an inseparable part of every Goan, taking the shape of the land it goes to but never really letting go. All we have to do is take care of this basket of sounds and emotions that are everything that remind us of home, no matter where we go.
